


a lesson not learnt

by mellifroze



Category: Dream SMP - Fandom, Minecraft (Video Game), Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Floris | Fundy Angst, Gen, Sad Floris | Fundy, also i PROMISE the fic is better than these tags im so sorry ab them, hey why was there no platonic fundy & ranboo tag do y'all really NOT write about them??, why are fundy angst oneshots the only things i can write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 14:48:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28601712
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mellifroze/pseuds/mellifroze
Summary: choosing sides is bad, but is choosing friends bad too?----aka fundy AND ranboo angst i'm no longer just a fox furry apologist :)
Relationships: Floris | Fundy & Ranboo
Comments: 11
Kudos: 153





	a lesson not learnt

**Author's Note:**

> literally just the fight ranboo and fundy had today but... i... i wrote it as an angst fanfic with a happy ending, i guess? i don't know, i kinda speedran (spedran? spedrun? what's the past tense of speedrun--) this fanfic because i love ranboo and fundy and their dynamic sm. enjoy(?)

"So, what you're saying is that we should team up?"

"That's exactly what I'm saying."

"...That's exactly what you weren't supposed to say."

Fundy's head snapped up at that. Ranboo's head turned at the same time. They locked eyes, and Fundy opened his mouth to defend himself, but Ranboo was quicker.

"Coward."

The word hung in the air for a moment. As Ranboo's solemn, stoic face stared him down, Fundy did his best to ignore the sinking feeling in his chest.

"What the hell do you mean?" Fundy asked, trying to keep himself calm.

"I mean that -" Ranboo started, eyebrows furrowed "Fundy, what you just did was try to form another side!" 

"How is that a side, Ranboo!? I want your help to stop sides from forming!" Fundy snarled. Ranboo stared at him, then clenched his fists. Fundy could tell he was beyond peeved, and he knew that what he said did have the feel of blatant hypocrisy, but he wasn't able to go back and change his spur of the moment word choice, now, was he?

"What's the difference, Fundy?! I stand by myself, as soon as you add people to that it becomes a _side._ So what if it just starts as us 'stopping sides' - eventually more people who think like us will join, and before you know it we're a new faction of five. That's exactly what you said you didn't _want_ \- that's what I said and you told me you understood it, but you don't!"

" _You're_ the one who doesn't understand, Ranboo! You're taking this way further than it has to go! Teaming up with you to stop sides doesn't have to spiral into a new L'Manburg because we both know we don't want that!"

"Fundy, it's still a side! All of this is still choosing sides - _today,_ you chose a side! You chose the side that would win, because you were too scared to lose!"

"So _what_ if I'm afraid of losing, Ranboo?!" Fundy snapped, lashing out his arm in anger. "When you've lost as much as me, then you can tell me _all about_ being 'afraid of losing'! When you've been abandoned by your father, then your grandfather, and all the people you've ever put trust into, _then_ you can come to me and tell me you'd be fine with losing again!"

"Then why do you even want to join me, Fundy?! Why would you want to start a new side when sides are what caused all of that in the first place?!"

"Ranboo, I want to join you because you're right! You always have been - about sides, about people, and I was wrong to think otherwise! But this _isn't_ a side. Together, as a team, _not a side_ , we could ensure this chaos and tyranny never happens again!"

"But that's still a _side!_ We're people, uniting under an ideal, and we stand for something!"

"Then what do you want to happen, Ranboo?! You want everyone to stay solo, do their own thing and never accept help from others?!" Fundy threw both of his arms out beside him as he spoke. 

Ranboo looked at him incredulously, as if the answer was blatantly obvious. "Yes! That's the only way to prevent this!" he shouted, voice angrier now as he had to spell this out

"Really, Ranboo?! You really think that dividing people into individuals, all fighting for themselves, completely alone - that would solve everything, huh?!"

Ranboo cut himself off right before another impulsively angry retort, and took a moment. He straightened his posture and his sleeves, then made eye contact that was much cooler than before.

"Yes. It would."

"...You are sad."

Ranboo just about rolled his eyes. "You think I don't know that? That I'm not aware of my own emotions?!"

"No, of course you know that. Obviously you're sad. We're all sad, Ranboo, but that's not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?"

"You're _sad._ As in, pitiful. Pathetic. You think _this_ will solve things?! Ranboo, what you're suggesting is not having _friends_ anymore. Do you really think we'll all be better off alone all the time?!"

"That's not what I'm saying, Fundy, I--"

"But isn't it, Ranboo?!" Fundy laughed. The smile had returned again, the insane smile from earlier, and the crazed laughter was back too - he had thought Ranboo was the sensible one, and he had been sorely mistaken. "You didn't ask me to join you with the intention of forming a nation or a country! It's not like you proposed to me ideals or a plan. You just asked if I wanted to _join you_ , a question so vague there's only one thing to consider - You. Yourself. Your personality, your morals, the memories of the fun we've had... and how is saying yes to that _choosing a goddamn side?!"_

Ranboo's eyes were locked with his now. He clenched his jaw and took a deep breath. The silence hung in the air between them. "That's not what I'm saying," he repeated, calmer this time. "Fundy - don't you get it? We're so close to repeating history again when we finally get a chance to start over. You said yes because it's the easy way out, Fundy. Because you thought I'd just agree to it. I'm not the Tubbo to your Tommy here - I have my own set of values and I'm sticking to them. You can't just denounce sides and then expect me to form one with you because you're too cowardly to make a stand for yourself."

"I'm not _forming_ a _side_ , Ranboo! How clear can I be about that?! You were right yesterday, about choosing people over nations or factions. But I'm doing it! I'm choosing _people_ now! And what - now you tell me that's just as bad as forming a side?!"

"Fundy, the circumstances that lead you to this decision are part of the problem. You said yes because that's easiest for you. The best way to ensure you don't get burned again, like you did with Schlatt and Wilbur, is to form a team, a safe little alliance, with someone you know is your friend, right? But that's wrong, Fundy, because that's just blatantly ignoring all that we've learned! This started - _all of this,_ started when people with shared ideals joined together. And what did that get them? Oh, yeah! _L'manburg!_ And we all know how that turned out, don't we? Fundy, this--"

"This isn't _like_ that, Ranboo! Why aren't you _seeing it?!"_ Fundy shouted, undeniably the loudest he's been tonight, his voice on the cusp of breaking with every word. Fundy prepared to shout again, to continue this argument with the same intensity, but he faltered. He paused, shut his eyes, and inhaled. Ranboo was watching him expectantly, awaiting his points - on just how it was different this time. 

But Fundy kept silent for longer than either of them expected. The sounds of their laboured breathing, and very distant voices chatting or singing, it all felt so much louder now. Amplified in the silence. Eventually, Fundy formed a retort in his head, but when he went to say it, he could only get a word out before he trailed off.

Fundy wasn't even sure he believed in his own points anymore. Ranboo's right. He knows that Ranboo's right. He just didn't want to believe that the person he considers his best friend is really thinking like this.

And that's what this whole thing really was, he realized. This argument. He's sure if anyone else was telling him all this right now, he wouldn't have cared enough to debate them for this long. But this was _Ranboo._ The person who finally treated him like an equal, a valid person, not a child or a furry or a traitor. The person he could finally be himself with - no more spying on Schlatt or sucking up to his father, this was just... existing. It was really nice to finally be able to _exist._

And that's why he couldn't believe this was happening.

Up until now, he had been coasting on adrenaline. On the false pretense that winning this argument would solve _anything at all._ It wouldn't. The fact that they were having it in the first place means Fundy had already lost.

So much for choosing a side he couldn't lose on, huh?

Fundy blinked, his mind finally returning to here, to where he was standing, and he snapped his eyes back to meet Ranboo's. He hadn't even registered looking away, but Ranboo was different now. Calmer and composed, but the fire in his eyes remained unchanged.

"How is this different, Fundy?" he prompted, monotone.

"Ranboo, I... Maybe it isn't. I don't know. I don't know what the future holds, maybe if you said yes we'd have formed another nation somewhere down the line, but... I- I-"

Ranboo's expression softened, hearing that. Fundy was happy to see that, but it didn't change anything. Tentatively, he took a step forward. The meaning of their eye contact seemed to change as he did so. It shifted from the acknowledging gaze of an opponent in an argument to the bittersweet one shared between two people who used to be friends.

"I was just trying to live a life where I wouldn't get wronged."

Ranboo's lips seemed to twitch into a smile for a second, but it was so brief Fundy could believe it was just his imagination. He glanced between both of Fundy's eyes, trying to see past them, into what Fundy was feeling, but he eventually settled for a nod.

"...We're both aware that wasn't the way to go about it now, I suppose..." Ranboo mused. And that was it. Beyond the nod and that statement, he didn't acknowledge Fundy's words. They both stood in silence, neither daring to tempt fate by breaking it. The eye contact dissipated in what seemed to be a mutual understanding, but neither of them wanted to end the conversation and walk away, either.

Minutes seemed to drag on for hours. Fundy noticed Ranboo fidgeting with the sleeve of his jacket right as he noticed himself fidgeting with the sleeve of his own. It was obvious they both still had things to say, it was just a battle of wills on who would say theirs first.

"Uh... Ranboo, I..." Fundy began, voice quiet just because the silence was so hard to break, "I wanted to thank you for everything. It's really sad to say, but you're essentially the only friend I've ever had." He tried to make that out to be a lighthearted joke, but it was painfully clear in his voice that it wasn't lighthearted to Fundy at all.

Ranboo seemed genuinely shocked to hear it, though. Fundy couldn't tell if it was in a good way or a bad way, but he swore he could see tears start to form in his eyes.

"I may not agree with you on this, Ranboo, but you're still a good person. You-... you were the first person I didn't have to act differently around. With you, I was never trying desperately to win you over, or trying not to get caught spying, we didn't even have to sit around and talk about battle plans all day. It was just people hanging out. I guess I just wanted to go back to that again..." Fundy trailed off, then added, with a laugh, "I guess a day was too long to spend mad at you."

Ranboo looked... conflicted now. Still solemn, yes, but less so. "Fundy, I..."

"It's alright, Ranboo. I get it. We can't form a team, it's just... sides again. You..." he paused, pursing his lips, "...you can go now."

"I - Fundy, I..." Ranboo sighed, trying to find the right words, "you- you know I didn't want it to end up like this, right? Us fighting?"

This was the first time tonight that the look in Ranboo's eyes had been truly sympathetic. There was no argument anymore, no anger, it was just kindness and regret. 

"Yeah, Ranboo, I know," Fundy smiled.

Ranboo nodded, and smiled back. "Good."

Fundy stared for a moment, unsure of how to continue from here. When he saw Ranboo's smile awkwardly fall, he just decided to say something - anything. "Soooo... that's it, then?"

"Unless you have more to say!" Ranboo shrugged, laughing.

"Nope!"

"Great!"

They both paused for a second, then burst out laughing. Neither of them had any idea on how one was supposed to follow up a heated argument that ended cordially instead of with someone slamming a door or just straight-up walking off. It was amusing to both of them to see the other struggle with that just as much as they did themself.

"...We're still friends, right?" Fundy asked nervously, a few seconds after their laughter died down. He watched as Ranboo smiled for a second, before realizing he wasn't joking and just staring at him incredulously.

"Are you joking?! Of course we're still friends, Fundy! I'm not going to stop hanging out with you just 'cause you wanted to, what? Team with me?!"

"Okay, good, I just wanted to check. So... to recap: we're still friends, we're _not_ teaming, and agree to disagree, right?"

Fundy had to admit, he knew next to nothing about how to deal with Ranboo and his issues with memories, but... he wanted to try to help? Even if it was in a way he clearly didn't seem to need right now, Fundy hoped he'd appreciate - or even, really, notice - the gesture.

"Yup. Don't worry, I remember," Ranboo smiled. Fundy nodded, his smile widening - he noticed it! 

"...So, is that all then..?" Ranboo asked.

"Guess so. It's been a long day, huh?"

"Yeah. Explosions and stuff..."

When Ranboo trailed off, he made eye contact with Fundy again, and they shared a giggle before wordlessly parting, each of them awkwardly waving at the other. Fundy was glad they seemed to have resolved this, even if he wished they didn't have to do it in the first place. At least he still _has_ Ranboo as a friend - he's been abandoned so many times it feels odd to think that he had conflict with someone and then just... made up with them right after. He couldn't be happier about that.

As Fundy walked away, the last thing he saw was Ranboo fumbling through his belongings, frantically searching for a book and a quill.

**Author's Note:**

> this fic definitely shows my fundy bias, but... i'm a fundy stan, what do you expect. to be fair though, i love them both to death and imo both of them were in the right during the argument they had, so... y'know, i tried my hardest to give ranboo good lines and valid points as well.
> 
> anyways, comments are very much appreciated because i like validation and also criticism is cool too i guess!!! but honestly mostly just thanks for reading all this in the first place that means so much to me. :D


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